Harry & Chris

Best pals Harry (left) and Chris live together at home and on stage, where their routine typically incorporates comic song. Fresh from singing their lungs out during The Harry and Chris Show 2 at the Edinburgh Fringe (Winner of the Most Imaginative Title Award), Harry took to our Q&A on behalf of the duo, with no small amount of mischief.

DISORDER: What’s your elevator pitch?
HARRY: We’re a comedy-jazz-rap duo about to set off on a UK tour. Our podcast features a section for pitches, including a dating app based on spoons and meltable fire-door wedges.

What people, places or things inspire you?
H: We get inspiration from our respective fields. Hollie McNish and Kate Tempest are currently smashing it poetry-wise. (Insert something jazzy Chris would like here). We also inspire each other to hilarity on a daily basis. I recently made Chris laugh so much he spat cookies in my face, which I’m really proud of. Chris likes to do nice things like leave the milk out and clog up plugs with his chest hair. I sometimes like to passive-aggressively bring this up in interviews.

What artists turn you on?
H: I recently saw Pecs, an all-female drag king collective with a backing track heavily featuring Justin Timberlake. I’m still recovering. I had a similar experience watching Christine and the Queens. There’s something about watching someone who feels fully comfortable within themselves that I find really exciting.
“CHRIS”: Harry, for comparable reasons.

Who do you want to be when you grow up?
H: We’ve written at least two songs about this, so hopefully we can squeeze a couple more out before we make a decision. I think Chris is still holding out for his door wedges idea to make it big, but I’m content with travelling round the country with my best mate playing songs that make us laugh.

What got you started (the secret of your success)?
H: We went to school together! We were both in bands doing covers of our favourite rock/rap tunes. We also shared a love for Flight of the Conchords, which still influences what we do now in some way.

What has been the biggest surprise along the way?
H: How much you can bring the best out of each other. We both do a lot of solo stuff. Our first show felt like a bit of a mash-up of that, whereas the second feels like we’ve hit our stride after writing together from the start. We’ve pushed each other in ways we might not have managed by ourselves.

What’s your worst trait?
H: Sometimes after about a week of standing in shower residue up to my shins, I’ll lose the flatmate endurance test and buy something to unblock the drain, telling myself that it’s a nice thing to do and that I won’t bring it up in the future unprovoked. Three handfuls of gunk later and my goodwill really runs thin, which is something I should probably work on.
“C”: After pouring a glass of milk, and instead of very reasonably placing it back in the fridge, I will leave the bottle on the table like some kind of still-life sculpture.

What would you most like to change in the world?
H: I’d like people to interact and listen to each other more. So much hatred and fear and division seems to come from misinformation that could be overcome by talking. I’ll be honest; it’s really hard to make a genuine point here without sounding like I’m hinting at milk again.

What talent do you wish you had?
H: I wish I could speak Arabic. I just texted Chris this question and he said “Q&A repelling power”, so maybe it’s better that I handle this.

What is your dominant characteristic?
H: Chris is quite physically powerful and sometimes wakes up in a very cuddly mood, which I’ve learnt to not resist as it makes him sad. I’m relentlessly optimistic.

What do you appreciate most in your friends?
H: Trust – whether it’s the way Chris’s eyes light up when I start to tell a joke, or being given complete control over occasional interview questions.
“C”: I really appreciate that time Harry unblocked the drain, even if I never explicitly told him this.

How/for what do you want to be remembered?
H: Hopefully making the world a brighter place than when we started. Oh, and the legendary Q&A we did for Disorder that one time.

Unpaid endorsement: what can you recommend?
H: Old Spike Coffee! They’re a social enterprise in Peckham that work with the homeless and make amazing coffee.